The Browning-Krug Duo – comprised of Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra musicians Grace Browning, harp, and Benjamin Krug, cello – will perform at SUNY Brockport on Friday, March 29, at 7:30 pm. Under the aegis of the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester, the pair will play a program that includes works by Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, and others. The recital will take place at the Tower Fine Arts Center, 180 Holley Street, Brockport. Ticket prices are $17/general, $12/senior citizens, Brockport alumni, faculty, and staff, and $9/students, and are available online at http://www.fineartstix.brockport.edu, by phone at 585-395-2787, or in person at the Tower Box Office.
While continuing with their “day jobs” with the RPO, the pair are extremely enthusiastic about chamber music, especially when they pair their two instruments together. While there is some repertoire composed specifically for harp and cello, Browning and Krug enjoy the extra challenge of transcribing pieces for their own enjoyment, including the “Meditation” from Massenet’s Thais and excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, amongst others. “We enjoy going deeper into the music,” confides Browning. “We always learn so much each time we put together a program.”
Equally at home with both symphonic and operatic repertoire, Browning was appointed Principal Harpist of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2017 and the Santa Fe Opera in 2015; she can be heard on both ensembles’ Grammy Award-winning albums, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and American Rapture. As Guest Principal Harp, she has performed with the Metropolitan Opera, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, and most recently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on their 2023 North American tour.
Krug has performed with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, the Chautauqua Festival Orchestra, and the Finger Lakes Opera. As a chamber musician, he is a devoted member of the Salaff Quartet, performing several outreach concerts a year, as well as live radio broadcasts on WXXI.
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